True Grit (2010) Coen Brothers
True Grit (2010) Written and Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Based on the novel True Grit by Charles Portis Cinematography by Roger Deakins Music by Carter Burwell Edited by Roderick Jaynes Cast Jeff Bridges as Deputy U.S. Marshal Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn Matt Damon as LaBoeuf Josh Brolin as Tom Chaney Barry Pepper as Ned “Lucky” Pepper Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross Box Office Budget: $38 million Box office earnings: $252.3 million History This is the second film by the name True Grit. It was not considered to be a remake of the movie because this version was written based off of the book. Synopsis The film is about a young girl named Mattie Ross who is seeking to avenge the murder of her father. She is Presbyterian-Protestant 14 year old who has a better grasp on human decency and religion that most people.Mattie Ross enlists the help of Cogburn to go into the indian territory after Tom Chaney her fathers murderer and they have run ins with LaBoeuf a Texas ranger looking for Chaney as well. But Mattie has faith in Cogburn even and whole heartedly believes that he has true grit and will prevail. Religion Her character being so deeply religious appealed to the Coens. She really embodies the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, who Ethan Coen studied in College and even wrote his senior thesis based on. Wittgenstein is quoted as saying "If you and I are to live religious lives, it mustn't be that we talk a lot about religion but that our manner of life is different," "It is my belief that only if you try to be helpful to other people will you in the end find your way to God." "Ludwig Wittgenstein." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 May 2017. Web. 11 May 2017. Facts Hailee Seinfeld was just 13 when she was cast in the role of Mattie Ross. She beat out 15,000 other applicants. Jeff Bridges was nominated for an oscar for his role as Deputy U.S. Marshal Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn. This is the 7th time in history that an actor had been nominated for playing a role that won another actor an oscar. Movie Quotes "You must pay for everything in this world, one way and another. There is nothing free except the grace of God." - Mattie Ross "The wicked flee when none pursueth. Proverbs 28:1" - First Title Card "You go for a man hard enough and fast enough, he don't have time to think about how many's with him; he thinks about himself, and how he might get clear of that wrath that's about to set down on him." - Rooster Cogburn "That didn't pan out." - Rooster Cogburn Cast and Creator's Quotes Barry Pepper: '''“It was more like doing American Shakespeare. There’s almost like an iambic pentameter, a musicality and a rhythm to the dialogue.” “It’s a very structured piece I found, in that respect. Charles Portis has such a specific vernacular of the period. It’s so authentic in my mind because most people were probably pretty illiterate back then. They were maybe schooled on the King James Bible and that really infused the way they spoke. I think a lot of westerns missed that.” '''Joel Coen: "I have to say, one of the things when we first saw the first take of Hailee doing a scene from the movie, 99.9% of the hundreds or thousands of girls that read for this part didn’t have the facility to… they sort of washed out at the level of not being able to do the language. That was something which was never an issue with Hailee. Right from the beginning it was clear that she was completely comfortable with the language. The language isn’t, as everyone’s pointed out, our language. That was the threshold level at which you could sort of hope to do the part, but Hailee had it right from the get-go in a very, very natural way." Eisenberg, Eric. "Interview: The Cast And Filmmakers Behind True Grit." CINEMABLEND. N.p., 21 Dec. 2010. Web. 13 May 2017.